


Calico Aster - A Warriors Fanfiction

by EnderEmpressS16



Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Cats, Clans, Fanfiction, Gen, Kits, Kits fighting Cats, Takes Place In Windclan, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-24
Updated: 2020-03-24
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:46:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23291158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EnderEmpressS16/pseuds/EnderEmpressS16
Summary: Asterfur, an elitist Windclan warrior, certainly gets more then she bargained for when she takes on an socially inept runt as her apprentice.------(Odds chapters are written by Ender, & are MAINLY in Asterfur's POV. Even chapters are written by Waterlily, & are in Stormpaw's POV.){Waterlily is not on AOC}
Relationships: Original Character/Original Character
Kudos: 1





	1. The Taut Teacher

The rising sun was scorching down on her thick pelt, as the fresh moor wind tore through the skies, chilling all who laid to rest there to the bone. Asterfur could not wait to get back to the Windclan camp. Her hunting party had ended in complete abandon, with Dewfern & Emberdust only managing to catch a couple of rabbits, & exhaustion ran throughout her veins just thinking about sprinting a couple of yards ahead. As they neared the entrance, the gray & white tom behind her scoffed in disapproval & sat down.

"When are we going to get there," he yowled. "This is ridiculous. We've been at this for hours!" 

Emberdust growled under her breath, silently agreeing with her agitated clan-mate. Asterfur sighed at their impatient attitudes, while proceeding to stop along with them.

"Patience Dewfern. We will arrive home safely before sundown," she calmly stated, not even bothering to turn around to she if her attempt at consoling the tom's temper was successful. "Emberdust, I'd also appreciate it if you'd kept your mind on holding the prey, rather then your tongue." The amber tabby behind her flushed in embarrassment, & resolved to slowly trotting behind Asterfur, her tail between her legs. Dewfern simply huffed in annoyance, got up, & carried on with his rabbit. Their argument was pointless anyway, seeing how close they were to their goal. Before they knew it, the Windclan camp entrance was right in front of them.

The camp was more restless today than usual. Asterfur could see that as clear as day, her violet eyes searching the perimeter of her camp as she turned to look back at her tag-a-longs. They had just finished laying their prey down & were tiredly shuffled pack to their den, their jaws slick with each rabbit's white fur. She then turned to face the prey pile. It looked fuller than usual, she noticed, but Asterfur knew it would be empty by nightfall. It always was, & it always will be as long as their clan keeps expanding. She sighed & kept walking, the ground quietly thudded beneath her paws as she made her way to Nursery. As she approached the haphazard rock, she could already hear the distant yowling of kits. She chuckled to her self before squeezing herself through the entry way. 

"Ah! You're here!" 

She looked up to see her sister Rushingwave looking back at her from across the room. She was sprawled on her side, her kits eagerly shuffling about, trying to get the last scraps of her milk. Asterfur cautiously approached her, careful not to step on the other kittens who were wearily roaming around the dark cave.

"You're earlier than usual aren't you Asty?" exclaimed her sister in a teasing tone. The Siberian merely huffed in response. "Aww come on! Deep down underneath your ruggish exterior-" 'Ruggish? How in Windstar's name was she of all cats ruggish?' she thought to herself, "-That you're heart is just as fluffy & friendly as mine!" Rushingwave's signature cheeky grin, which Asterfur always dreaded, soon appeared on her sister's face. The kits, seeming to sense their mother's mood, mewling excitedly in response.

One however didn't respond at all, as she was hunched up in a corner. It was a small brown tabby, with striking icy blue eyes that could pierce through souls. Asterfur felt a chill run down her spine as soon as she locked eyes with the kit. 'T-this,' she thought, 'was the presence of something absolutely sinister.' Throughout the ordeal, they both said nothing during their stare down. Her sister's voice cut through the air once more.

"Oh, Snowkit deary! Come back to your siblings! We all miss you!" Rushingwave called out to her kit. Snowkit said nothing & turned to walk towards her mother. Asterfur snapped out of her trance at her sister's voice. While the mother & kit interacted with each other, she turned to look back at the entrance, missing the curious glance of a calico kit who would become very important in the near future.

\-----

The sky had turned amber, a sign of the rising sun. She realized that the apprentice gathering would start soon. She said goodbye to her sister, & ignored her terror-inducing niece as she walked out of the cave towards Windclan's high rock. Her timing, as usual, was impeccable. As soon as she was less than five feet away from the stone, Tallstar's black & white spotted coat climbed on top of it & gave out a tremendously loud yowl that signaled his clan-mates that the gathering had started. As he sat down upon the edge of his perch, he looked down to the valley, startled to see Asterfur waiting for him, her unwavering gaze waiting patiently for him to start. She seemed to have known she was to be picked as a mentor. Behind the lynx-like she-cat, approached Emberdust & Dewfern, who sat by either side of Asterfur, much to her obvious disapproval.

"I wonder if I'll get an apprentice?" Emberdust thought aloud, clear excitement etched on her face. Dewfern burst out laughing.

"Please, you're one of the worst warriors in all of Windclan." He started. "You'll be lucky if get an apprentice as long as you live." Emberdust snarled & made way to decimate him, before Asterfur intervened.

"You two are acting like fools." She growled, giving her signature death glare. This, of course, annoyed & terrified the fur off the backs of the young warriors next to her. They simply grumbled & apologized, too scared & proud to do anything otherwise. The gathering went on as normal, with Flintfoot getting Ebonykit, & Bateyes getting Emeraldkit. Each pair seeming to be in perfect harmony as they shared tongues. Tallstar's voice broke through the comfortable silence again.

"Snowkit come forth." The wind had seemed to lowered in temperature in response, as if her mere name caused an in-balance in nature. As the ceremony went on, Asterfur shockingly realized she was the only cat in all of her clan to sense this change. She had tuned out the rest of the ceremony, until she saw a familiar red & brown coat fly past her to greet his strange new apprentice.

'Ashenstream,' Asterfur thought, her already fluffy fur puffing up even more at the mere mention of her name. As the new found duo shared tongues, Asterfur could feel the gaze of her niece on her already sweating pelt. Ignoring her & the attractive tom to her right, Asterfur put all of her attention back to Tallstar, as he finally said the words she'd been waiting to her after first becoming a warrior, beckoning her to the center of the crowd.

"Asterfur, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You have received excellent training from Rainflight, & you have shown yourself to be respectful & loyal to the end. You will be the mentor of Stormpaw, & I expect you to pass on all you know to her." He then smiled as he called the gathering to end. Asterfur, hearing a quiet shuffling of paws behind her, turned around & saw a small female calico kitten. Her emerald green eyes cast downwards in a shy manner. Asterfur, furious, came to a realization, as she promptly glared at the nervous kitten, who shrinked back when she gave eye contact. 'That absolute madtom! He gave me a runt for an apprentice!"


	2. The Shy Student

(This chapter was written by Waterlily from Quotev)

Stormpaw looked down, trying to avoid the disdain in her new mentor's eyes. She sighed, feeling Asterfur's disapproval weighing down on her like she was holding up all of Windclan. Stormpaw sighed, and after the ceremony was over, joined the other new apprentices, who were excitedly talking about their new mentors.

I got Flintfoot!

Well, I got Bateyes.

As Stormpaw approached, her sister looked up and gave her a smug grin.

"Hey, mute! Heard you got the Buzz-Kill!" Snowpaw said, sneering at her. Stormpaw looked down at her paws for a moment, fiddling with the mouse she held.

"Oh, leave Stormpaw alone." Nightpaw insisted. "It's alright, I'm sure she'll be a better mentor than you'd expect." she said kindly to Stormpaw. Stormpaw nodded a silent thank you, then walked away, listening to the other apprentices continuing their earlier discussion. She headed to the apprentices den-it seemed so strange compared to the nursery. She curled up and tried to sleep, but sleep was a long time coming.

"Wake up." She heard a voice hiss. She opened her eyes to see Asterfur standing over her. "It's time to start training. Let's go!" She stalked out of the cave, and jerked her head for Stormpaw to follow. Stormpaw nodded and silently obeyed, following Asterfur to the training hallow. She tried to match the different techniques that her mentor had given, especially under her purple-eyed glare. But no matter how hard she tried, she never could seem to fit the warrior's standards. She would always be holding her leg in the wrong position or twitching her tail too much or jumping several feet into the air when a mouse rustled through the leaves. She would think that she had followed Asterfur's instructions, but her mentor would always hiss and help her get into the proper stance, muttering about how angry she was about getting a runt as an apprentice. She would sometimes yell about how Stormpaw would never manage to become a warrior with how easily frightened and small she was, but Stormpaw was used to that. She got comments like that a lot, being a runt. But it still hurt, especially from her mentor. Stormpaw managed to get it right eventually, but by this point the sun was barely visible on the horizon. Asterfur huffed and turned to go back to camp. Stormpaw struggled to keep up with her in the fading light. She sighed and headed over to the fresh-kill pile to get her supper. After she had eaten, alone, she trudged back to the apprentice's den and closed her eyes, trying to sleep. Snowpaw stalked in, her head high with pride.

"Hey, runt. What'd you learn today, how to speak?" she sneered, looking down at her with a huff. Stormpaw shook her head and turned away. Nightpaw rolled over and whispered to Stormpaw.

"It's all right. How was your first day?" She asked softly, kindly. 

"She yelled at me." Stormpaw whispered back.

"A lot?" Nightpaw whispered, and Stormpaw nodded. 

"And I'm pretty sure I did horrible." Stormpaw added.

"Hey, we all did horrible. Snowpaw is being careful to avoid the topic of how she fell into a river this morning." Stormpaw giggled, and Snowpaw hissed at them.

"What are you whispering about?" she growled.

"Your terrible training session." Nightpaw laughed, and Snowpaw scowled.

"I'll bet I did better than you did!" she snarled, but Stormpaw and Nightpaw were too busy laughing to care. They eventually calmed down and fell asleep again, drifting into peaceful slumber through the night.

The next day she woke up early, while the other apprentices still slept. Something seemed wrong. She crept out into the darkness and sat, looking into the mist that enveloped the Windclan camp. The sun had not yet risen, and it was dark and quiet. But a peculiar smell filled the air, of other cats, but not Windclan. She sniffed at the cool night air once more, but could still not figure out what it exactly was. All she knew was that there were cats from another clan nearby. She wasn't really sure, it may have been her imagination, so she went back into the apprentices den and fell back asleep. She woke up with Asterfur standing above her.

"Get up." she hissed. Stormpaw nodded and hurried to follow her to the training hollow. "We're continuing to learn hunting techniques today. So prepare yourse-"  
Suddenly, they heard pawsteps. An ebony and amber tom came up with his brown & white apprentice.

"Hiiiiii, Stormpaw." Snowpaw sneered as she walked up. Asterfur was looking at the other cat. Stormpaw noticed the look in Asterfur's eyes and wondered what was passing through her mentors mind.


	3. The Vision

The light shown brightly throughout the whole area as the tan she cat scornfully gazed at her apprentice as she floundered about on ground, attempting to catch a hare. Asterfur's tongue only held back at the thought of the amber & black tom beside her. He seemed to be holding back laughter at the sight of the tiny calico. Part of her longer to her hear to that laugh, but quickly dispersed as she reminded herself that Stormpaw skills reflected her own. 

"Stormpaw! Stand up & bend your legs back! You can't lay down while in a hunting crouch!" 

The calico flinched in response, & attempted to do as she was told, only to end up flopping down face first once more. The tabby to her left was cackling her head off at the sight of Stormpaw's pitiful attempt at a hunting stance. Asterfur groaned in exasperation. So far with Stormpaw's failures, & Snowpaw's rudeness, the only good thing about this training team up was getting to talk with Ashenstream.

"What's wrong, runt?" Snowpaw teased. "Can't do a simple hunting crouch?" 

Ashenstream sighed in response to his apprentice's rudeness, but said nothing, seemingly used to her behavior by now, with it being a half moon since the ceremony. Stormpaw just simply groaned, the sound being muffled by the dirt.

As Snowpaw rambled on, Asterfur's mind wandered to the scenery below her. The ditch Windclan's training camp lied on was atop a hill overlooking the entire forest. Clan legend states that it was formed by a moon boulder that came crashing from Silverpelt, a sign that Starclan was against an act of Windclan at the time, but the rumor was so old that it had simply faded into an old kit's tale by the time Asterfur had heard of it. She scoffed.

'There's no such thing as a moon boulder, & even if their was, why would Starclan wish something as destructive as that upon Windclan? It's simply inconceivable.

Sundown was starting to break & the light from above had her covering one eye with her paw. She turned the other one back to her..."companions". 

Snowpaw was slumped down onto her back, her head leaning on the passed out Ashenstream while her tail was swishing back on forth on Stormpaw's snoozing face.

Asterfur sweatdropped. 

'It seems that kit won't stop torturing Stormpaw even in her sleep.'

She sighed & got up, approaching the trio of unlikely nappers. As she neared them more, she could see Stormpaw thrashing about in her sleep, rolling around so much it's a miracle that the other cats besides her hadn't awakened yet. Sweat dripped down her back. Tears welling up in her eyes. Her tiny paws were trembling as she tossed them around as if she was sprinting from here to the Sunrocks & back. 

"NNOOOO!"

Stormpaw suddenly shot up like a bat out of the dark forest, now completely wide awake. She was shaking like a leaf, panting up a storm. 

"What the-, " Asterfur started still in shock, "Stormpaw?!"

Snowpaw & Ashenstream had woken up as well, one being concerned & the madder than a badger in a fox den. 

"What is wrong with you, you rabbit-brain?! You probably just scared off all the prey on the entire moor!" Snowpaw said, harshly clamping her younger sister over the ear. Stormpaw hissed in pain, obviously still distraught, but less than she was in her sleep. Her bright green eyes were laced with agony as she looked to Asterfur for guidance. 

The Siberian huffed under her breath, before roughly shoving the tabby she-cat off her apprentice, & tucking Stormpaw into her chest. Snowpaw hit the ground hard. Ashenstream did nothing, but he did look up at Asterfur with a new sparkle in his amber eyes, obviously very greatful & surprised at her sudden kindness. Asterfur could feel her fur puffing up again the more she looked at him & tried to keep it down to a minimum as looked downwards at the tiny calico again. 

The calico was a bit shell shocked, not expecting her mentor to give a mouse's dung about her wellbeing. It seemed her sister may have been right about Asterfur.

'Maybe she's not as bad as she seems... right?'

Stormpaw was still shaken up about everything. Too shaken up. It was too hard for her. She didn't even notice she was being carried off. She closed her eyes, praying to Starclan that she wouldn't have that horrible vision again, but it started the same as it had begun the first time.

Stormpaw felt the fire before it was even a fox length away from the camp. It came hard & it came fast devouring all who dared to enter it's path. It was a disaster. Cats young & old were being swallowed whole by lashes of pure heat that were steadily weaving their way around the outskirts of the heart of Windclan. The approaching roar. The crackling & sizzling. The screams. Oh Starclan, the screams. They came from everywhere all around her tiny, frail body, from those she knew well & hardly knew at all. One of them stuck underneath a large tree, was Nightpaw, her closest friend before becoming an apprentice. Half of her body was charred & burnt to a crisp, signing the rest of what was left her beautiful tortoiseshell coat. She was crying & whimpering in utter agony. Her olive eyes filled with a terror so strong it chilled her to the bone

"S-Stormpaw...." Nightpaw weakly cried out. Reaching out her good left paw to her.

"p-please...." A branch of the tree she was under was cracking, threatening to fall & crush the rest of what was left of her. Stormpaw couldn't move, frozen in fear.

"Help..."

The branch fell. 

"MMMMMMMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeee......" Her dying screams echoed across the moor, before being lost in the deafening sounds of the fire forever.

And then everything went black.

She woke up in the burnt husks of what used to be her camp. She walked around for a bit taking it all in. The rock that reached over the nursery had fallen over, leaving all who lied in their to die of suffocation. The rotting carcasses of her dead clanmates surrounded her, taunting her everywhere she went in the now ghost town of her once thriving clan. 

Everyone was gone, her best friend, her home, gone. In the blink of an eye everyone she ever loved had been taken from her. Just like that. As she moved forward, not even sure if she was in control of her own body anymore, she came face to face with the standing structure left of Windclan. The highrock.

But, there was something off about it, because in graved in the rock was a mark. Three claws marks hidden underneath the darkest shadow of the tall stone, lighten up only by the last speck of fire on the entire moor.


	4. Rising Tension

(This chapter was written by Waterlily on Quotev)

"So." Barkface said thoughtfully. "You had a vision from StarClan?" Stormpaw nodded. "I want to believe you, but how do you know it's from StarClan and it's not just an everyday dream?" 

"I...I ju...just...ha.......have...a feel.....ing..." Stormpaw struggled with her words, and was startled and a little pleased with herself that she had managed to say an entire sentence. she wondered if the dream really had come from StarClan, and that was why she had been able to talk about it.

"Hmmm. I'll keep it in mind." Barkface said skeptically. Stormpaw hoped he believed her, but she was just a mute runt, why would he? Outside they heard the familiar call that meant Tallstar had called a meeting. They all gathered to hear what their leader had to say.

"We found something out at the last gathering." Tallstar announced. "It turns out that Tigerstar is trying to merge the four clans into one clan. He proposes we call it TigerClan. Of course, we refused, as did ThunderClan, but surprisingly RiverClan also agreed to this merging of clans. TigerStar is giving us one last chance to join him, or he plans to destroy our clan. I must meet him at Fourtrees for us to talk this over." Tallstar then chose several warriors and apprentices to go with him at Fourtrees, and the ones that stayed behind were given several jobs. He chose Asterfur to guard the apprentices den, to Stormpaw's alarm. She seemed annoyed at this as well as she walked over after the meeting. 

"We can guard ourselves. We know how to fight!" Snowpaw snapped at her, but her fear was obvious by her voice.

"But you need extra help." Asterfur said with a small growl. "You are not full warriors yet, especially you. You're barely more than a kit." She shoved Snowpaw back into the den with the other apprentices. She wheeled to glare at Stormpaw, who was cowering in one of the corners. "Get up. " she hissed at her. Stormpaw nodded. "You need to learn to speak, Mute." She growled. Stormpaw again nodded. "No, say 'yes, Asterfur,' when I give you an order. " she growled, and Stormpaw blinked in surprise. She knew she would never be able to say that too often, she had barely managed to speak before.

".....ye......yes......As...As..As..Ast....Aster.....Asterfu....fu...fur......" she tried. 

"Congratulations, Stormpaw." Snowpaw said smugly from the other side of the den. 

"You. Shut up." Asterfur hissed.

"Why should I? You're not my mentor." She sneered. 

"Because I'm a warrior, and you're an apprentice. You need to learn some respect!" Asterfur hissed, turning to give the white apprentice a glare. "You need to stop thinking you're in charge, you're not! You're barely more than a kit!" She repeated.

"I don't even understand why we're refusing to become a part of TigerClan." She said. "I think it was a wonderful idea!" 

"See, that's an example of how much you don't understand. " Asterfur hissed, although she seemed shocked by the small cat's words. "The four clans have existed in the forest for generations, they were created by StarClan." She continued. 

"If you believe in things like StarClan." Snowpaw said slyly. The look in her eyes said that she knew something most of the cats in the den did not. Asterfur gave her a glare.

"Are you saying you don't?" Asterfur snapped back with a growl.

"Oh, of course I do."

"Are you suggesting I don't?" Asterfur hissed.

"Brilliant observation, BloodClan cat."

"What did you just call me?" Asterfur yowled.

BloodClan? Stormpaw wondered. What's BloodClan? Asterfur growled again as Snowpaw repeated the unknown word.

"Where did you hear of those good-for-nothing cats?" she hissed.

"I overheard a conversation." Snowpaw shrugged with a grin. Asterfur scowled at her.

"Well, it doesn't matter. I'm not with them anymore, you idiot. I believe in StarClan, and the Warrior Code."

There's a Clan that doesn't believe in StarClan or the Warrior Code? Stormpaw was surprised, considering both of those things heavily influenced clan life. A clan like that would have no order. How would they get by? Asterfur growled again at the snow-white apprentice.

"How do we know that? A cat that leaves one clan can't be very loyal to the one it goes to afterwards." Snowpaw pointed out smugly.

"You stupid kit! Of course I'm loyal to this clan!" she growled with a small swipe at Snowpaw, but her claws were sheathed, and she was not using her full force. "If not, I probably would have strangled you by now." 

"Saying things like that, why should we believe you are loyal to the clan?" Snowpaw shot back with a smirk. Asterfur growled and went towards the entrance of the den to look outside. Her tail twitched angrily, and her violet eyes were like flames. Stormpaw was just glad she was not the one that her mentor's fury was towards. She curled up and closed her eyes, hoping that by the time she woke up, the argument would be over.


End file.
